One of the most enjoyable things about arriving home feeling great after a long break, is going through the mountain like pile of mail. Naturally most of it is bills. No different for me. The best one? My house insurance has just gone up by 50%!! Thats ontop of the 26% last year. Yes I know, it’s as a result of the earthquake in Christchurch….oh and the Japanaese floods….ooh and the constant Queensland floods…oh and the fact that insurance companies dont like paying out insurance claims…after all they’re really just in the business of gambling…..they are getting you to place a bet with them on whether or not you will make a claim. Naturally they are setting the odds. So feeling very shitty, I got a quote from several other companies. One was $1000 dearer. Another was cheaper ….but only if I took my contents and car over as well. The conents and the car were in fact dearer which overall meant more. I told them this so they gave me a quote with out the car, but because the car wasnt there the house price was dearer. Also as I had claimed for insurance twice in the last year(one as a result of a burst pipe and the other hail damage) I would have to pay more as I had a history of making claims.I would have tought they should charge less as these two faults had both been fixed and were unlikely to happen again. But no. In the end I decided to stay where I was but have managed to reduce the price. Heres the interesting part. By moving the office of insurance to my local one instead of in town it saves $8 a month…yes I dont know the difference either and they will never tell you unless you ask. Also for the privilege of paying monthly, they charge you between $25 and $35 more a month. Much better, now it’s only gone up by around 75%….cant believe my luck!!

What is it about travelling that always make you glad you’re home….or does it. I have a strange mix of feelings after this trip. I described it to my friends as a bucket handle….not a list but a handle. Not quite ready for the list yet. Paris….ah Paree….Sacre Cur, The Eiffel tower(after a 2 hour queue), Monte Matre and the artists….fab as usual!! Not sure if I need to visit it again tho. Venice….2 days is enough however if you havent been there before, then it’s a must on the handle list!! Tuscany….loved Italy…loved the village life..the early short walk to get pastries for breakfast….the cheap food and the cheap wine!!!. Rome…well once you’ve seen the Collusium and the Vatican what else is there??? Shop assistants are rude so spend your money in Venice. Crete….wonderful….great people, never a cloud in the sky, beautiful water…and as far as Singapore and Japan are concerned….too dear. There is now no price advantage in going to singapore at all…in fact some of the electronics are cheaper here than there. Over all a wonderful trip…I have however returned with the question “how can food be so much cheaper in Europe” Cheese, a 3rd of the price(and thats after conversion), meat cheaper….veges…cheaper…water under 1 Euro instead of the $2.50 to $4.00 a litre that we pay here. Today in the paper came the news that petrol has hit a new high in Italy…$2 Euro a litre…it then went on to convert it to NZ dollars. I think its time we stopped this practise. It doesnt work…A dollar is a dollar is a Euro…..if you do convert it, then petrol is the only thing dearer…so dont bother!! We have also come home to 13 degrees and rain on the 3rd day of Spring…..still..it’s always good to be sleeping in your own bed. As to my bucket handle?….not sure the next place to add….I will however continue the blog…I’ll just pretend I’m somewhere exciting!!